The lucky one?
by AlineMiller
Summary: How to tell him that jealousy has been eating me inside ? How to tell my own father that even "I love you" sounds like a lie. I know I barely just got him back, but right now I wish I hadn't , not when all he can think of is Harry James Potter. If the summary is not good enough, be sure that the story will be better.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there, if there's anyone reading this then this is for you. First this is an excerpt from the story, I haven't finished it yet, but I know this chapter has to happen in the story, many things can change, so that's what your reviews would help me with, it is a kind of twisted story with an OC character and is slightly AU. About the rating, you should know that I'm not familiar with it, if you think this belongs to any other rating, please let me know.**

_**Disclaimer: if you know it, then I don't own it. Everything but Amanda is property of amazing J.K. Rowling.**_

'Dad! Please don't go. Please don't leave me alone' I looked at him, begged him to stay safe, tears streaming down my face, but I could see in his eyes that this I would not win, I couldn't win against the chosen one. I couldn't win against the war outside. A single tear rolled down my cheek at last and dad went to get his wand, then I knew this was not a nightmare and I knew right then that my battle was lost and I just didn't fit, whether it was a dream or not I wouldn't let my father get caught or worse just because of a grudge against the boy-who-wouldn't-die. Dad came downstairs and left with Moody, I quickly smiled apologetically to Remus and Kingsley, went straight to the Ministry, I knew I wasn't supposed to go along, but they messed up with the wrong broken-family. The bright side was that Dumbledore would know. Kreacher would make sure he knew.

Finding Harry was Sirius' task, Moody was up to duel any death eater and I was up to fight along dad, right now I knew if everything came falling down, at least I would've done my best, and at the end of the day, it was all I could hope for. Remus was gathering the kids along with Dora, I followed dad and found him caught on a duel with Lucius Malfoy, he was fighting alongside Harry, just when I was about to join dad a sicken voice called my name

'Amanda Zabini, a little late to be out of bed isn't it little cousin' She looked at dad mockingly, but he didn't look away from Malfoy, which was probably her goal. It was impossible, the bitch knew, she was now aiming her wand, at first I was able to block and avoid her jinxes and curses, but she was getting rougher and who was I kidding, I wasn't made for fighting, and this psycho obviously liked to play, if it weren't for that, I know I would be death by now, but it makes little difference given the fact that her curses became harder to avoid, everyone was busy by now, the only chance I had, was using my surroundings but by the time I summon a friggin rock I'll be sure death.

'What will little Blaise say when sis Mandy turns out death?' Her eyes were teasing and her hysterical laughs were so not helping my case, Blaise was still dealing with mom's husbands and each time they turned worse and worse, what if Mrs. Harrison stopped dropping by and taking Blaise out of that hellhole... Am I such a bad big sister? Please don't let him be hurt again.

'I heard Marcus liked to play, what will he do when there's no one to turn him in?' She looked at me and let out a simple laugh 'what will poor Blaise say about his only sister being a blood traitor? A shame to the family... How many marriages will he have to stand because of your pathetic heroical stunt in here' I saw now the fire in her eyes, the same fire that had never been inside mine and somehow I was glad that this war hadn't turned me into a murderer, because I knew now that there was no good done in fighting her cruelty with violence that would eat me later on, than a smile crept through my face I knew this could be the end and the only thing I regret so far in my life is spending so many galleons in candy, I quickly looked through the room, dad was smiling, Remus was dueling along Dora and both looked happy as hell, Moody was now bringing three death eaters down and my clothes still smelt slightly like dad's.

'Bring it on, biatch'


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: if you know it, then I don't own it. Everything but Amanda is property of amazing J.K. Rowling.**_

***10 months before***

Dust and putrefaction filled the air... That was my first impression as I woke up. I never really cared about the smells in my room, but it surely didn't stink last night before going to bed... Wait a minute! Dust and putrefaction, don't tell there's a death body around here! Oh no! What if its me that's already death? Ok, let's see Amy, open your eyes, lets see what's wrong...

No way! No frigging way! Where in hell am I? This is so not my room, black and dirty? last time I checked my room was gipsy blue, not creepy black, and what's with the windows? Mom is so not going to like this.

I got out of bed just to find myself standing on a strange bit of parchment, there was ink all over the paper, so I could barely make out some a's and p's, and there was definitely a D, silently I made my way to the door, voices rang across the hallway, which was getting a bit annoying, amazing timing to wake up in a random flat, I couldn't just pop in here after a sober night, it had to be a hungover Sunday... Friggin voices! Why couldn't they just zip it until I figure out why I have no wand and no catch up note. Getting to what seemed like the study room I found two extremely familiar faces.

'Aspirin. Two. Now' ok, I seriously didn't intend for it to sound so rude 'Please' I saw a mischievous smile playing on Moody's lips, but it disappeared as soon as Father glared at both of us, ok, what's his frigging issue? Ever since I met him he's smelt like alcohol and tobacco, yet you don't see me throwing him at the face neither of my observations.

'Oh come on, it's not like you haven't tasted alcohol, we can all smell it as soon as you walk into any room, you smell like a whole casino and I'm sure you don't even know what that is' now Moody was actually smiling and I couldn't help to join him.

'Charming, but we ain't have no time for any of your family reunion bullshit' he gave me a glass with some hangover potion — way more helpful than medicine — then his magical blue eye met my eyes, instantly I looked away 'I'm gonna make this fast, will you, or will you not take the task Amanda?'

'Now this is you going straight to the point, right mad-eye?' I started looking around, this room was not better than the dormitory I woke up in 'I already told you I'm going to America to study something actually useful, I'm not gonna be able to look for wizards who might wanna join, not that I'm blood weirdo who secretly/openly wants to conquer the world, but I'm not comfortable with the position where I'm landed, I'll do my best to recruit the wizards I meet there, but keep into account I'll be living in a muggle neighborhood, send me a patronus if you need anything and I'll do what I can, anyone kind enough to tell me where the hell are we' obviously Father was not going to answer so I turned to Alastor, but my surprise got the best of me when Father answered lightly

'My parents' house, it's full of protective charms, with Dumbledore's help it will be good enough to become the Order's HQ' I raised my eyebrow quizzically and let him continue, but he had already turned his attention some papers in the drawer.

'Well I suppose I have to go, see you later, maybe for Christmas' I turned to the door in a bit of a hurry, and followed the hallway to the main door, Moody handed me my wand and bid me farewell, for an unknown reason I turned around and there it was, a grumpy elf, just before any further contact with him I felt a strong hand embracing my wrist, their scent was the hint that rang the bell

'Amanda, just wait' I turned around slowly and found Father looking at me, holding the door, ok so, no way out without tackling him, just smile and nod, he might let ya go sooner that way

'Yes?'

'Well, Mad-eye told me you weren't leaving to school until next Friday, mind staying here? I mean we could use a little help with the cleaning, we are having many people coming over, and... ' stop rewind and WTF? So he actually is asking me to stay just because he can't get a descent cleaning service... Might as well work something out of this

'Oh, that would be great, why don't you send Mr. House elf pack my stuff, mom will probably be ok with it, and I'll help you with the house' as soon as I saw his smile growing I added 'but of course, remember that it will be 3 galleons per hour, By the way, I do have to pick up some books on deep house cleaning, I'm not cleaning this dump on my bare hands... Is it ok with you Black?'

'Might as well shut that portrait over there' now Moody was pointing at a blank space which probably was the spot of some family picture.

'Your grandma tends to scream her lungs out every time she sees any of us...'

'So that means you're actually paying me to clear up your mess? Sweet! I'm warning you Black, no funny business, there's an upper east side loft waiting for me, in order to guarantee its availability I'll have to collect each day after I'm done, deal?' I offered my hand, but he gave a simple nod, I tried my hardest not to tackle him down —fourteen yearsy living with Blaise had to pay off— anyways, I swallowed my grudge and kept my hand still for a proper handshake, now this was about pride 'deal? Or shall I walk away? I really ought to admit you would look exceptionally entertaining while dealing with all this dirt in here' mad-eye had clearly walked away by now and before I could reach the door he gave my hand a subtle but strong shake which earned him a sarcastic smile.

I did try to help out and earned myself 35 galleons, meaning over 350 dollars! I know that just only a few dollars, but along with my savings, the money mom will give me and my scholarship, a good life was waiting for me. There were some seriously uncomfortable moments when I was left alone with Father, he looked as uncomfortable as me during each meal we had to share, but somehow we had managed to live through the boredom of it all, the only times he would actually speak, were when he praised his wonderful godson or even worse, those drunken nights that he would spend in his couch crying about how bitchy mother was every time he spotted me, just lovely, of course this was not what I had in mind when Albus Dumbledore introduced us, last year, he was probably waiting for a teary meeting, but well, he was just so casually cruel in the name of being honest that things between us just didn't work out, it was so evident how we just didn't click, he is so grumpy and closed, and I'm too grown up to crawl back to him, lets just say that we came to the ignoring agreement.

_**The light had been out for several hours by now, but no one had bothered to check the common room, everyone was trying to get some sleep for the third task, every single Hufflepuff wanted to see amazing Cedric beat Harry Potter in the tournament and earn our house some acknowledged glory, but I couldn't stop pacing by the fire thinking about the shaggy dog rounding through grounds, when I finally realized that pacing around the room was probably the most stupid thing to do, I went straight to the kitchen, even though it is supposed to be a secret, almost every Hufflepuff knew the way in, and right now I needed some hot cocoa, on my way out I found myself in the most embarrassing situation ever, I had spilled my yummy "homemade" cocoa in professor Sprout's robes and the only thing that blurted out of my mouth was so not supposed to get out 'not my cocoa! I've barely just tasted it!' Of course Sprout found it very amusing, yet informed me that she was actually in her way tour dormitories, apparently the headmaster required my presence, she escorted me all the way through the fine gargoyle and muttered the password before saying goodnight.**_

_**'Come in' ok, this office was so cool! He had everything messy, but it just didn't matter at all, the view was just astonishing, as I would've said at age 5 "many many shinny stuff! Me likes it!" ...**_

_**'Hello Ms. Zabini, Lemmon drop?' Shook my head, never take candies from strangers, I barely knew the headmaster, what if he liked his Lemmon drops with cocaine or so, he merely blinked at me like he knew just what I was thinking... Hey Mandy, you better not mock the old man, what if he's some sort of super wizard able to read minds and comes out of a dark ally to take revenge upon your crazy thought, just nod and smile, and don't think about the twinkle in his eyes, he doesn't know that you know he's reading your mind. Now he really smiled at me and I took seriously the mind reading thing, I mean after all he IS a sort of super wizard 'I find muggle candies rather amusing, wouldn't you agree?'**_

_**'Oh, I'm not the kind of candy-lover person, but I do miss the fruit roll ups from the states' I started scanning his office, it was just filled with interesting objects and past headmasters portraits, his Phoenix called my eye but before I could caress it, he continued**_

_**' I assume you have heard the rumors regarding certain mass murderer' now, that's what I call a mischievous twinkle, right there in his eyes**_

_**'Well, there are so many of those, we have Hitler for a start, Franco a supporter of his, I think Voldie also counts as mass murderer, but again any of his subs will, which one do you mean, sir?' I looked up to find him with a wide smile on his face**_

_**'You must be familiar with the name of Sirius Black' I gave a simple nod**_

_**'Convicted murderer, accused of the death of the potters and several muggles, also if I'm correct he never had a fair trial so I'm not so sure if he should be considered a criminal, no offense, I know you declared against him and all but there were some dirty business in there, though I will not deny he's actually scary in those photos given in the prophet'**_

Now that's a statement I do regret, if Dumbledore had thought it dangerous to introduce me to my progenitor I might still be under the sweet illusion of having had a loving father.

Sirius Black had listened to our conversation and had been expecting to meet a brave griffyndor girl and found himself landed with a shy sarcastic good for nothing Hufflepuff. He first said that he regretted missing my first ride on a broom -I mean seriously dude? You left when I was a toddler and regret missing my first broom ride-, by the time I said I sucked at flying he had already looked at Dumbledore for help, and the only time he mentioned mom was to say how much he regretted marrying a pure blood witch and how lucky I was to grow up away from that banshee, then later he asked where had I grown up, when I told him about life at the manor he did look a bit guilty, but immediately started praising Harry Potter, his godson, and how he had to deal with hideous muggles. He then bid farewell and said he needed to go into hiding, since then everything went into a downfall, Dumbledore arranged a couple of meetings in hope of growing a family bond, but apparently every time I tried approaching he had to aid Harry, after all he was a little boy and I was a step away from graduating, not that I expected otherwise... Well yeah, maybe I did have a huge hope back then, but right now things seemed better far far far away from London.

Now New York seemed really amazing while on vacation, but trust me, you don't want to live there, I totally screwed up, the so-called dream-loft was already rented, soo I had to get a shared room, lucky me got landed with a violinist and not some drama girl full of make-up! Yay!... Ok not so nice, this girl seems to take playing the violin way too seriously! I mean the weirdo plays at night and takes away my sleep-hours, of course it would be great to cope with a violinist to get some fair opinion on my compositions and so on, but my sleep hours are sacred, I know it, everybody knows it, I even gave her a memo with my sleep hours!... Ok no, maybe I didn't but the year was starting pretty bad thus far.

Ok, I did overreact, this Jennifer is not as bad as it seems, for my first project I had to deliver a piece that could be played by the 1st years, trick being, it had to be innovative, but easy enough for them to master it, yeah why don't they just hand us our dismiss letter... But lucky me had a violinist on the house, so she helped me delete those parts that were way too tricky and well I'm hopping to ace this project, here's to hoping!

Interrupting my inner babblers an owl came through the window and rested on the couch... Ok, an owl. In NYC. This totally out-of-place, it wouldn't kill them to send a frigging little bird, obviously the owl carried a small parchment on its leg so I removed gently, but this stupid animal wouldn't go away!

'I ain't gonna give you any traits so don't make yourself comfortable' the silly bird just stood there. Oh wait, it has probably been through a very long journey, let the bird have some rest, maybe a little cookie?, I gave it some chips ahoy and read the parchment waiting for it to be a "good luck in your new school" kind of letter.

_Your place. October 13. 11 am._

_Keep safe._

Ok, now I know something was wrong, so what am I gonna do to make sure Jen stayed out of here by October 13, which should be... What day was it today again? Sweet Jesus! clock, what time is it? Ok, clam down Mandy, just pull yourself together, change your clothes and get ready, cuz it's 9:48. A little shower, cleanup for the apartment, voilà!

Now looks like decent place to live! Just gotta fix that crashing sound around the kitchen, and...

'My! How did you get in?' Frowning upon I found hard to resist some laugher, I mean the man was struggling with Jen's cat 'oh, did the bad man scare you to death?' I took Charlotte in my arms and shooed Black away

'Don't tell me the stupid devil is yours! That thing went straight to my feet, and not in a good way!'

'Oh, calm down, you baby girl, poor Charlotte is scared to death by you' now I was in the couch with Charlotte in lap and Black was probably deciding wether or not to join 'you know, she won't rip you off now that she knows you're welcome here, she's pretty smart too.' He doubtfully sat on the other extreme of the couch and shot Charlotte a glare, she was just happy as long as there was someone caressing her, if she weren't so calming, I would've thrown her out by now, but hey! Having a cat is not so bad.

'So, what's up?' Ok now he did look puzzled 'it's a polite way of saying what are you doing here?'

'Oh, right. Well can't a father visit his only daughter once in a while?'

'I guess so, Jen's dad always brings some food' I quickly looked at yesterday's Thai food, I'm getting hungry 'but not you. So why don't we skip the small talk, I don't want to skip another class today.'

'Well the ministry back in the UK has used its influence to prevent the students from learning defense, or anything useful at all, it's all some kind of plan to convince everyone that Harry and Dumbledore are lying about Voldemort. We think that they'll try to convince the American ministry of this to keep a "strong reputation" so, here's where you come in, we need you to tell us what is going on here in America and whether or not the ministry is buying Fudge's crap'

'Hmm, I do know that some dork pinky woman tried to pass a werewolf law here in the states, but well, Robert didn't take it too well, you see they hate that you Brits try to impose so hard, and well a law like that would change drastically the Modus Operandi here.'

'So you're saying that...'

'Im saying that the ministry is ready for the war, they're handing and sending flyers with protection techniques, they even placed guards in muggle neighborhoods, well Robert did say something about centaurs in Washington, now that I mention him, he'll make an amazing acquaintance here, I'll talk to him' Robert is a really sweet little person when you get past the oh-so-serious-minister, so this should be easy 'well that's pretty much it, if I were Dumbledore, I'd send someone more social here, I mean it's not like I can keep up with politics and music, now that y say it, it is so not meant to put music and politics together' I am blabbering 'sorry, I lost it' my cheeks were turning red and I could almost see him smile. Almost.

'Well I'll make sure to mention it to Dumbledore, are there any werewolf packs in here?'

'I guess, in full moons, though they are equally accepted as a regular wizard in here. Unless it is full moon and they missed their wolfsbane, then they're not really welcome' father seemed to drop his jaw deep down, but somehow managed to recover it

'Would you have any problem if we send a werewolf here, he's been trying to recruit some packs back home to keep them from joining Greyback, but every pack seems to support him, eventually he'll try to recruit here, and this would mean a better change of scenario.' Now he looked kind of optimistic ' he'll be here only for a couple weeks of course'

'Sound like he's your friend' he nodded impatiently 'well, that won't keep him from making his own food, and cleaning his own mess. No magic allowed, I live with a muggle, and I'm rather fond of her without trying to oblivate her. If he behaves he can stay, if he's any macho kinda dude he's out and I shall not be held responsible is that clear?' Am I being a bitch, cuz I really feel like one, and I like it.

'Crystal clear expect him in a week tops' now this looked like goodbye, so I went for my bag and house keys

'Charlotte! No touching MY sweaters! That's why Jen has her own clothes. Shoo go for hers!' I moved her to Jen's wardrobe and just before I walked away she purred me goodbye, I swear if she weren't Jen's I'll adopt her right away 'have a nice day you too little kitten'

'Leaving so soon? Did you have breakfast?'

'Yes mother, now I have to catch my least favorite teacher and explain my absence a...' I quickly panicked and turned to face him 'you're not supposed to be here, you could be arrested! Or ambushed. Or both! You... I... Them... Now... Argh! Explain!' I'm sure I sounded hysterical, and trust I looked psycho, but he's MY father after all.

'Well as long as you don't held a death eater here, this is safe. Well don't mention this to anyone in the order, just in case' he winked at me and went straight to the small fireplace

'DAD! Be careful' I looked away with my cheeks burning red 'sorry' I muttered looking at my very interesting feet, I was expecting him to walk away, but instead he caressed my hair, I couldn't help myself, he was caressing me, before I could stop myself y threw my arms around him, and for the first time I let his scent involve me, he still smelt like alcohol and tobacco, but there was something fresh like pine, he was soft and soon I felt his arms around me holding me tight, whispering me reassuring words, a couple of tears escaped my eyes and I held him closer 'don't leave me dad'

'Shh, I'll drop by, when I get cleared we'll get a nice home, it will be the three of us, Harry, me and you' not again, not Saint Potter. 'It will be out in the woods, or near a beach. It won't be long. But listen to me Mandy, I'll never leave you. Not again, not ever' I held him tighter, it was the first time we had actually acted like a family, and it is way better than I expected.

**So, what do you guys think about the first chapter? I know it is kind of silly, but I'm personally happy with the outcome, I mean it is my first fan fiction after all. Well as I already told you, it would be very nice if you reviewed, yes you! The one reading through this screen. Ok enough of that, I'll post soon the next chapter, and don't worry dear Remus Lupin around show up sooner than you expect. Anyways have a good day and don't forget to be happy, or pursuit it... Either way I'm glad you're reading my story and this long note. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: if you know it, the I don't own it. This all rightfully belongs to Joanne Rowling.**

My face, my arms, my whole body felt soaked. I ran my hand through my hair, it was all over my face, my left hand felt a little dumb. When did I fall asleep? Ugh! Stupid tests! I quickly looked around the place, Jen obviously was still outside and we are still out of coffee.

'Move it or lose it Zabini, you have a lifetime workload due tomorrow' I mumbled to myself just to get myself out of bed. I lazily took my blue notebook out and started my first essay. What do I need anatomy for? I mean it's not like if I were to ask a cello whether or not he's like a person, and what kind of diseases he has...

Just like any responsible decent honest young lady I wrote it down discreetly on Jen's "to do list". I mean she would look out for it in her endless book collection and explain it to me while I innocently record my essay, I mean her explanation. It is of course due to the boredom of the essay itself, I mean if it were a useful research I'd do it, but who am I kidding? Mr. Jones wouldn't recognize a useful topic even if it hit him in the face.

I quickly managed to work on some arrangements that needed to be done with the whole masterpiece project and well, who doesn't like a little t.v. as reward. The funny guy from the news was trying some tap moves while presenting the culinary clip, now this was amusing a 30-year-old man tapping all over a set with a chef on the same take... Maybe I should try to write a bit more danceable piece for the next project.

Charlotte came out of my room to place herself on my feet, I quickly moved her to my lap where I could easily caress her, and I slightly remembered that odd dream I just had, not that I could figure out when I fell asleep, or did it actually happen? Instantly I discarded that possibility, there was no way on earth I would behave that way around Father, but I couldn't dismiss the thought that it would be certainly nice if it'd been true.

Jen arrived soon enough for us to do some research, since we both have class with Mr. Boring we wrote our essays together with slight and subtle changes that only Jones wouldn't notice.

Exhaustion is something I barely tolerate so I went straight to my bed after leaving my stuff ready for school...

'Jen, keep that cat away from my room, night.'

The following days were just as busy, Robert wanted to meet in a broadway coffee shop... Something like Starbucks or so. The only good thing about it was the free coffee, I mean it's not like if I accepted just for the free stuff, but who doesn't like free food? Apparently mom arranged a visit for the next weekend and I had to convince him that she had no secret agenda, after all since she won't be traveling with Marius, there were no further problems, though he did mention that my stepfather was strictly banned from America, he probably expected me to show concern or puzzlement, but he was surprised when a big smile appeared on my face and my arms wrapped around him with no previous announcement, I just couldn't help it, he provided a nice barrier to keep me from that monster ever again, when Blaise gets his priorities sorted out I WILL take him with me.

'Earth to Amanda! Heellooo?' Jen was now facing me and suddenly I realized I had totally spaced out... Again. 'Dude, you definitely freaked me out, there's a man outside waiting to see you, he said he's friends with your dad' now I am confused, I grabbed a pullover and wore it before getting to the living room with my wand at hand just as precaution, no death eater could get past the guards without warning.

Standing in front of me was a tall pale and seemingly exhausted man, he wore an extremely shabby set of wizard's robes darned in several places. His hair seemed dark brown, it had some grayish hair over here and there, despite his ill looks, a soft look and sweet smile greeted me immediately.

'I believe introductions are in order' I quickly gestured the fridge 'would you like some soda, water, juice or chips?' I took my cup of coffee and drank a sip 'I am afraid our coffee is nearly horrendous, but if you want some be my guest'

The stranger shook his head and offered his hand 'Remus Lupin, Dumbledore believes there are certain errands I must run around here. I hope I'm not intruding...' Now my jaw dropped deep down. This not only meant I had hugged my father, but also that my brain is not functioning correctly, in fact this is rather weird.

'Oh right, sorry' I shook his hand and hugged him softly 'you'll find that we're more the hugging type.' What the hell is wrong with me? The hugging type? Since when? I quickly shifted back to serious mode 'I do hope you were informed of the rules, I certainly hadn't the opportunity to inform my roommate, but the arrangements won't take long, she is a muggle so no funny stuff. Am I clear?' He solemnly nodded and he so made me smile, I couldn't help the sudden nerves that took over my body. 'Alright, did you bring any luggage?' I knew he probably had some, so better know how much did he bring to make some space in the living room... I took in his appearance again, as handsome. He may look, he still seemed really worn out, suddenly making him sleep on the couch seemed really cruel. He probably saw me frown hard enough that he couldn't help a slight sneer.

'I was actually planning to stay in a motel nearby. I mean you are aware of my condition, are you not?' I raised a quizzical brow, father said something about him being a werewolf, was that it, or was he some kind of psycho with a Panic Disorder. Joining the dots my money said it was the first one 'the moony problem?' He nodded

'I do not expect you to welcome someone like me in your home' he looked rather tense and I couldn't keep from laughing out loud.

'Well as long as we take you somewhere safe during those days, I see no problem. I mean it, the motels around here are not somewhere you wanna live in, you can stay under certain rules, but I'm legally attached to inform you that I live with a monster will mock your condition anytime.' I dropped my voice and barely whispered 'we have a cat' now he was the one to smile. I had to tell Jennifer about Remus and she just warned us that she would not tolerate us having wild sex outside our-my- room. Yeah that was really awkward.

Making the room arrangements was not that easy, we had to charm the bedroom so we could place an extra bed, there was also the moon situation, I had some spells we could place in the room at night when he needed to transform, but if it were to work, the wolfsbane was a must, and Remus didn't really know how to brew it correctly.

'Remus, are you sure this guy won't brew it for you now, I mean he's in the order isn't he?'

'Severus is not very fond of me due to my personal behavior in the past, so I seriously doubt he'd be willingly doing it, I do have enough for this full moon, but the next month's will be problem'

'Well, we won't know if we don't ask' I sent a patronus to Dumbledore demanding basic human rights, which included a constant supply of wolfsbane and honeydukes trade mark candies... As much as I expected for a bailing, he did actually compromised to provide the potion, AND send enough candies for sugarholic self.

The day coming to an end and as much as weird as it sounded I took Remus to a quick tour through the big apple, it was freezing, but a simple warming charm did it. Jen already though the guy was my boyfriend, and I certainly took a liking to him soon enough, but it was just wrong, he, Remus Lupin is my father's age. The small talk was not so bad, he was going to visit Robert to know the nearby packs

'So, how are you coping Amanda?'

'It is not easy, I mean I can barely drive here. But I like it, I'm sure you'll love it here, thing are so different from home, you'll see' ok, Amanda Zabini, why are you smiling like a lovesick girl?

'Im sure I will' he looked at me a bit nervous 'you do know they'll send you back, right?' I gritted my teeth but kept walking, this was nonsense.

'Things are getting nasty, and when they explode' he shook his head 'we need to stick together, living alone with a muggle is not the safest option now a days'

**So, here's a little catch up. Amanda thinks the whole scene with Sirius was just a dream because it was really weird and she couldn't remember if it actually happened. And I know some of you might not really like Blaise nor his mother, but they will become a part of this story. I hope you're liking the story so far, if you have any comment, suggestion or else please review so I can improve, if you like it so far it would also be great to know through a rating or review. I'm out for now, but will update soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys! This chapters follows Remus instead of Amanda, I apologize if it's a little girly or just unreal, that's why I didn't venture into his thoughts nor his point of view, simply a narrator which follows through the chapter.**

**_disclaimer: if you know it, then I don't own it. obviously everything except Amanda belongs to JK Rowling._**

It was the first time in ages that he shared a room. Remus Lupin was now sleeping under the same roof that a girl who didn't run away from him. That indeed was a good morning, so he remained silent in his bed, admiring the ceiling that wore an amazing view of the sky, nothing like the great hall, or so. It was a still image of the night sky with a very amazing moon in the corner, Remus couldn't tell wether it was accurate or not, but it was the first time in a long time he could see a full moon and remain himself, suddenly a hatred burned deep inside him, what a cruel way to remind him of his damned nature, this seemed the perfect chance to remind him of his lost childhood, his lack of humanity, the last reminder that he was not meant to be.

'Woopsie, didn't wake you right?'Amanda's high pitched voice rang through the room and he couldn't help to growl.

'Nice ceiling' he replied with a fake smile, she probably was not to blame for his temper, but this ceiling was just a final straw. Amanda eyed the ceiling and a faint smile appeared in her face, but it drastically dropped when she noticed the moon.

'Oh-oh shit! I'm... I...' She took out her wand and quickly flickered it towards the drawing, it became a nearly visible toe-nail moon. This made Remus smile. 'I certainly didn't keep it on purpose, I'm really sorry. Want breakfast?'

'Thought I was to prepare my own food' he added teasingly while heading to the kitchen'

'Well I fucked up, so don't get used to it'

She wouldn't let him sneak a peek and claimed it would be the best breakfast he would ever taste in the apartment.

'Tada! Breakfast for us! I'll leave Jen's in the fridge, so don't touch it.' She showed two gigantic sandwiches and two plates with watermelon, pineapple and kiwi along with a glass with juice. 'I know it's not much. In fact I know it's rather depressing, but you need energy, and a sandwich will do it, also the fruit is a must, so I hope you have no allergies, I put some nuts with the fruit, but you can leave those, and I know you guys are into those butter beers and pumping juice, but you'll find that orange juice is way better, this one is natural, so enjoy it.' No frigging way! Remus stared at his plates with disbelief, had he been transported a different dimension? A young beautiful girl had cooked a breakfast that could easily defeat Molly's anytime, with a wide smile he joined Amanda and couldn't help to feel comforted by this stranger's hospitality, Sirius had warned him that his daughter was a hard bone, he couldn't see how would she be a hard bone, she seemed quite... Warm.

'I'm sorry about the ceiling, by the way. I just never really thought about it, hope this makes up for it' she llseemed blush, but he dismissed the idea quickly, she was little Mandy, the little girl Sirius had showed him so many years before. 'You know, mom would always say that every time a loved one passed away they joined the stars in the sky, for a while Blaise and I would try to find our dads up there. I guess I'd rather believe he didn't actually left by his own will... When mom told me left some moths before being arrested I decided had quite an episode' she had already finished her food but felt playing with the fork, Remus was in awe, but wouldn't let it show, she needed someone to listen and frankly he was not sure he wanted her to stop just yet. 'When he broke out of askaban, I didn't even know he was my father, mom always refers to him as "he", later Dumbledore introduced us, that's when everything went to hell, everything was about Potter. Geez even uncle Lu seems like a father now' then Remus couldn't help it, des belief was written all over his face... Uncle Lu? What kind of sick joke is this?

'Uncle. Lu?'

'Draco's dad, he's very nice with family, in fact mom used to take us with him whenever things got nasty at home, him and auntie Cissa have been very nice to us. But with everything going on, ugh, mother knows where they stand and she is not letting us near them that much anymore' Remus couldn't believe what he had just listened, he knew those ones were united, but a family, no way.

'Lucius Malfoy?how did you manage?'

She shrugged and rolled her eyes 'they're not that bad... Mostly they didn't care because of mom, I'm their niece, uncle Reg left me an awful lot of money and auntie Cissa is very find of me'

'Well, you do have Sirius, and last time I checked he was no death eater'

'Yeah right, last time I checked he ran away' he chuckled hard and looked at her with a soft expression, Amanda seemed like those students who give up too fast and too soon, Remus was not about to let that happen, especially because he knew that his friend did care an awful lot about his little girl. Her mother had done a bright job by breaking down all of her hopes and probably Sirius was not doing a nice job to improve the predicament, but here was a priceless opportunity for him.

'I know for a fact that your dad has always loved you, things got in the way and that's what happens, things between you got all screwed up, but it is up to us to decide what to do with what we got. Sirius finds himself out of jail, with a very high price on his head, that alone is a lot of responsibility for one man. Now, add a grown up daughter and a godson. He's just doing what he thinks is best, you have your mom, your stepdad, your brother and Jen; while Harry gets this hell of a family with the Dursley's, and there is also a lot of pressure on him right now' Remus was sure being raised with Malfoy was definitely not a good sign, but he wanted so hard to make her see Sirius' point of view 'you can't blame the man for being concerned about his godson, he has a lot in his plate as it is'

'I certainly can blame him for neglecting his own flesh and blood... Geez, you just don't get it, so don't take sides just yet' Remus could see her anger flashing through her eyes.

'Well, totally applies to him, you don't know his side of the story' he saw the same anger flashing though her features, now making her clinch her teeth. 'You are jealous, and it's totally acceptable, but did you ever thought, maybe you're not giving him a fair chance, all I'm saying

is that it wouldn't hurt to forgive and move on. He did left your mother, but did she ever mention how hard we tried to take you with him?, you just turned out to be luckier than Harry, and if you think about it, Sirius is the closest father figure he's got' She shook her head and he could see the sadness in her eyes, deciding not to push his luck any further.'Now, not that I mean to be rude, but shouldn't you be at school?' He glanced at the clock. She let out a heavy sigh before turning his eyes to him.

'I think I'm gonna ditch' he chuckled and then heard footsteps nearing 'Hi Jen! Breakfast is ready, saved you a bit, it's on the fridge'

'Morning to you too' she took the plates out of the fridge and stared at the clock 'shouldn't you be in class? I bet Jones won't let you miss his class AGAIN'

'Oh well, don't you believe my future's way beyond that campus? I think I'll just chill out' Remus looked at her wide-eyed

'Hm, isn't he your dad's friend?' She said with frown in her face

'Oh, he wouldn't mind' Amanda looked at Remus mischief written all over her face ' I think he'd encourage me' as much as Remus wanted to tell her wrong, he knew as a fact that Sirius wouldn't care less whether her daughter dropped or not her studies 'and even if he doesn't, I think I'm allowed a rumspringa' she rolled her eyes 'really people, don't you ever read?' Now it was Jen's turn to roll her eyes, Remus in the other hand was still confused

'She read somewhere that rumspringa means being rebel'

'Now that everyone knows, I'm out.' He watched her walk away in awe, after a few seconds a strong headache took over him and massaging his temples he went to the bedroom. He couldn't stop thinking about how he'd messed up, he liked his best friend's daughter, how on earth do you tell something like this to your best mate? With a heavy sigh he went to the fireplace and moved to Grimmauld Place, it was time to have a chat with Sirius... Before he even ventured to the packs.

'Moony! How was the first night?' Sirius wore an old dressing coat, his hair longer than usual and his eyes seemed filled with concern, he now noticed the usual alcohol aroma was missing and his friend was not stumbling as usual. A sad smile appeared in Remus' face.

'You know Pads, sometimes you worry too much, and that's something I thought I'd never tell you' they both went to the drawer room and found a little privacy 'your daughter is dropping school. Again. I thought you might want to know' Sirius raised an eyebrow, and let a bark laugh escape

'What was she studying anyway?'

'Orchestral conducting, with maestro Alan Gilbert. She had a scholarship' now Sirius was really laughing

'And who, may I ask, payed for that?' Remus chuckled and looked away, he knew exactly who had payed for her studies

'Her pays for the loft, I heard that Mr. And Mrs. Malfoy were taking care of her Julliard bill' this las was merely a whisper, Remus had seen the letters from Narcissa, it was obvious that she still cared about her.

'I'm sorry Moony, I think I heard wrong, did you just say the Malfoys are paying for HER education? Where the hell did that come from?' Sirius was now on his feet, with the same if he had seen in Amanda a few moments ago 'why is my daughter relying on THEM, we have loads of money, she could just ask for more bloody money, and why would they give her money, anyway?'

'Well, she did grow up with the Malfoys, as far as I know she's their favorite niece ' this definitely made Sirius drop his jaw, Remus could se the hatred in his eyes.

'Padfoot, I really do mean it, you should stop pushing her away, it's enough with her runing away, for you to take the luxury of letting her know what a better father Lucius Malfoy is.'

'Lucius Malfoy' he spat the name angrily, Remus knew it wasn't just madness. He saw his best friend defeated

'She called me dad, you know? A few days ago, when I went to her apartment. I bet she was high' Sirius looked though the window. 'Harry said she was friends with Cedric Diggori. He's still having the nightmares' the bags under his eyes were way more evident now, with a smirk on his face, Remus took a bag full of candies and gave it to his friend

'Amanda convinced Albus to pay us with candies, here she's got hers in a safe' he saw a flicker of happiness in Sirius' eyes and smiled 'now, I must get going, I'll drop by soon, you want to get a phone, Amanda uses it all the time, it would be nice if you could call her once in while' with that comment he left. Much needed to be done.

**Well, what do you think? The next chapter will be up tomorrow I hope. Do you like the story so far? What do you think about this chapter? I hope I didn't mess it up.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Lupinismywerewolf: I thin they're not quite favoring her jus because. Her mother after all is somehow a sly and powerful woman, so they just stick to her, and her saying that they're close as a family, well that was going to come next, but her mother is always going after new husbands to keep up her money for the kids, most of the times these men take it on her and Blaise, so their mom sends them sometimes to the Malfoys the only family in her circle that actually has a minimal capacity to love, so Amanda likes them because even though they aren't sweet and hugging, they don't hurt her brother nor her that much. She's like a necessary evil, plus I think Narcissa takes a special not liking, but curiosity about her, because even though she thinks different that her family, she sticks to them, and behaves as her mom asks her to, totally unlike Sirius and Andromeda, that everyone knew they were blood traitors, Amanda on the other hand remained silent not necessarily giving away her differences. If you add the fact that her mother and brother stick to her and , the Malfoys have no problem by letting go her Hufflepuffness, after all she's not a Gryffindor. Oh and there's the thing that if they pay for her to go far away, then there's no worrying about everyone learning how much a blood traitor she is. Well at least that's how it worked out in my mind :P **

**_Disclaimer: if you know it then I don't own it... Everything you recognize belongs to JK Rowling, and I just claim my OC Amanda._**

This one chapter is about Amanda. Enjoy

So with without another look, she walked outside the door, a little time to herself wouldn't hurt, as the thought of her mother came roaming through her mind, she moved on to some topic more comfortable. Ditching school, because after all, she never thought she'd need someone to tell her how to how to do her hobbies appropriately. They didn't teach her how to enjoy art. Didn't even bother to teach her something worth learning... Well what could she expect? Right now many things seemed way more important than that, a war was going on around her! A war that she was not ready to lose, yet she wasn't ready to win it, though right now she was dying to do something to stop tragedies from happening, she knew that people in the ministry were casually murdered or intimidated by many death eaters, mostly by their own partners... An image of Lucius crossed her mind, not ready to admit that he was probably involved in all this mess, she pushed the thought to the back of her head, she knew what he was capable of doing just to get his son the right brand of ice cream, a chill went all the way through her spine as she thought of what he'd do to comply HIS orders. She couldn't exactly return joyful back to England, not anymore, her mother would have a heart attack if anyone knew she was sharing her apartment with a muggle and a werewolf... And she wasn't ready to get back at the routine... She'd just have to convince everyone that she was better off in America, which she was.

After a delicious hot dog Amanda went back to the loft, smiling kindly to Paul, the doorman, he was now long asleep and she couldn't help to giggle, if circumstances were different, she'd be so tempted to pull a prank on him, but right now she land herself with a plan, which she would totally forget is she were to prank poor Paul.

The elevator was full. Again she found herself stuck with the neighbors that pretended they were alone and waited for their floor, she rolled her eyes and did the same, waiting to get on the couch and sort things out.

Before I could pull my keys out, I read a painful note from Jen... Something worse than realizing you've run out of food before a meal, is having to do the shopping. With a tired sigh she entered the apartment quickly to get herself a coat, the car keys and the list.

Maybe a trip to the grocery store was just what she needed because good it did, after a boring trip through the store and a weird guy trying to flirt with her, apparently just for the costumer 555 they gave her a brand new "I heart NY" t-shirt. This event drew Amanda's attention to a whole different topic... When was the last time she won anything? She couldn't remember, and the mere fact that she won something after 18 years on Earth was great... At least before she realized just how pathetic it was to get excited for winning a t-shirt, but well, great things mean nothing if you don't have smaller ones to compare to, so she decided she'd keep it just to recognize bigger accomplishments, her mind wandered further as she thought maybe winning the lottery was a nice option.

As soon as she got home she couldn't help herself and went through all of her belongings, was this t-shirt her biggest accomplishments after 18 long years of life? It just couldn't be truth! In a fit she considered going to her mom's house, she certainly had something better back there. Not. She was a complete loser with a sad excuse of a prize. Just as that last thought stroke her head, she decided it was enough stress for a day, she putted her hoodie on, took a blanket and placed the new movie on. The lion king, a new muggle movie that we just bought on VHS.

'Honey! Dealing, are you here?' Amanda heard the voice of her mother coming near her, damn her, was it really necessary for her to arrive just now? She turned the tv off and greeted her mother, she seemed worried when she heard of Amanda's ditching out, but when they decided she'd lay low it all got settled, before Mrs. Zabini could reach the fireplace again Amanda hugged her mother, it was rare to find moments like this. A precious moment, which she wasn't going to ruin by bringing up any grudges

'Mom, please take care of Blaise, and yourself.' It was a mere whisper, but her mom nodded holding her daughter, who wasn't letting go off her

'I will Amanda. Though I believe it is you we should worry about' she shook the thought away and smiled softly 'love you sweetheart'

'Love you too mom'

Just like that Amanda was left alone again, and fell in the couch to keep watching the lion king... But soon she was interrupted again by the door.

'Mandy, you're so not gonna believe it' she left her bag on the table and took the blanket off her friend. 'I just met this awesome cellist in the recording room, you know how I like to sneak in those rooms, it's so beautiful and calm' a dreamy expression appeared on her face and continued 'he was so nice and handsome. And guess who was it? I'll tell you anyway, Jullian Lloyd Webber!' It took me a couple of seconds to catch up

'As in THE Andrew Lloyd Webber?' She nodded 'Sweet Jesus woman! And what happened? Is his brother here?'

'But guess what? He asked me out! HE asked ME out!' She let herself fall in the couch, but instantly turned red 'um, yeah I almost forgot. I might have told him it was a double date. You know it would be perfect if you just took Mr. Sexy butt with us. He'll be here at 7 sharp, get ready woman! And call your date' with that they both went to their rooms. Jen excited as she could be. Amanda... Shocked as hell, she knew her friend meant Remus... She blushed as she remembered herself and Jen sneaking a peek at his butt. She got ready half-hearted... She didn't even know if Remus was going to make it by 7, she wasn't even sure if he wanted to go with her... On a date.

Jennifer came to the living room ready with a big smile on her face.

'So... When is Remus going to arrive?' Amanda frown at the way her friend purred the name of Remus 'hope he'll get ready soon enough, still. We have a good hour left, what do you say if we check out his clothes?' She so wanted to comply... And she did.

Remus had a handful of clothes, each one of them as shaggy as the other, she was thinking about transfiguring his clothes to get them a bit more wearable, but she wouldn't do it without his permission. A brown worn out sweater rested on her hands and a smile made its way when she smelt it, it was fresh cedar

'Am I interrupting something?' Her eyes widened helplessly and quickly let go of his sweater... Yeah not without blushing first.

'Oh. Hi Remus' dummy Amy was all she could think about, looking at Jennifer before staring at the floor.

'Yeah, you see... I got a date for tonight with a very very very handsome guy who happens to be one of the best cellists of the time, but I mind of suggested making it a double date, you know Amy, you; me and Jullian.' She had that dreamy face again, but continued 'don't worry she already killed her neurons left trying to figure whether you'd go or not, but she's ready and I'm sure you can make it, he'll be here in a few minutes' she looked around 'we better leave you to change your clothes' just like that Amanda was left alone with a very dazzled Remus, he looked through the mess and sighed massaging his temples cautiously.

'I don't even have dress clothes' a smily Amanda turned her face full of hope, maybe he was going to accept.

'Don't worry, I'm good with transfiguration, I'm sure I can manage' too fast and probably too creepy 'I mean, if you'd like of course' Amanda now turned her attention to the window not wanting to see him reject her.

'In that case' he looked a bit troubled but continued tiredly 'in that case I guess I shall get ready soon. What were you thinking about?' For the first time she noticed the way his eyes danced around her, what warmed her heart was fact that this eyes didn't rest on her body, but her face, he seemed to like what he saw 'I formal dinner, I guess' she shook her head.

'We're going to a café in Brooklyn' she blushed and muttered her next sentence 'I just wanted to look nice for you' she didn't wait to see his reaction, she didn't even knew if he heard, so in an attempt to patch things up, she muttered an incantation and turned his shabby worn brown jacket into a fresh one, the same with his pants, though she couldn't resist to transfigured one of his t-shirts into a white dressing shirt, his shoes just needed a bit polishing, so when she was he shyly let him dress in peace, when he came out she hugged him and couldn't help it, she giggled at the sight of this new Remus, he looked so gracious, though a part of her just missed his old looks.

'You look way more' she bit her tongue before saying something else, she knew she'd scare him away if he knew she liked him, so just gave him a kiss on the cheek 'I am you date after all, so don't expect me to act like a stranger with you'

A few minutes passed before Jullian arrived and Amanda found herself way to comfy in Remus' arms. She kept telling herself she hated her friend for setting her up like that, but she really was just grateful, after all Remus didn't seem to mind much.

Jennifer introduced them and before a small talk, she hooked herself with Jullian and Remus walked along Amanda, the cafe was not that far, but when they reached their destination they were cold enough to order a coffee just for the sake of their freezing hands.

Remus kept talking to her about some of the arrangements in the loft, but her mind was way lost to his voice and his amber eyes, he looked more tired than yesterday and that made her frown. Soon she turned to her friend who was snogging Jullian by now. Only that before she could clear her throat a gentle hand brushed her arm and made her turn around, Remus was there smiling to her, his eyes sparkled with a funny twinkle, his mouth... His mouth was closer by now, and she couldn't help to bring hers closer to him, out of nowhere her lips were brushing his as a gentle breeze, by the time she wanted retreat she found his tongue making its way through her clumsy lips, her hand reached his hair and he let go with a fuzzy expression that soon became neutral. Instead of looking down she moved her eyes to meet his, she wasn't going to let him think it had been some sort of accident, she smiled and took his hand into hers, but he didn't embrace hers as she expected to, they just hang there for some minutes before asking for the check which Remus and Jullian decided to split.

Getting home was the most awkward, Remus would hold her hand but when she tried to make him talk, he'd turn away and frown. Jennifer stayed behind in the door saying goodbye to Jullian, but Remus ran through the door and Amanda followed him to their room.

He took his jacket off and sat on his bed still as a stone. Amanda sat next to him, leaving a good arm of distance between them.

'I... I am sorry for dragging you into this, and you didn't have to pay, I'll make it up with the groceries or so' she looked him in the eye 'but I'm not sorry for kissing you Remus, because I' she took a deep breath in and made sure he was looking at her 'because I don't just like you, there's just something that feels so good about you, and I know it isn't a crush... Just know that I really like you, and' as she looked his emotionless face she bit her lip holding back some tears 'please don't push me away. If you don't feel the same' by now she let out a dry laugh and looked at her feet not standing his gaze 'then just tell me and I'd understand'

**What do you think? I'm sorry for the delay, hope you like it so far and review so I can improve. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing... Special thanks to Lupinismywerewolf and puppybee.**


	6. Chapter 6

**DameAureline: thanks, it really is nice to know when I'm doing a nice job and hope you keep reading. Actually Charlotte is the name of my cat, she is a Siamese. à bientôt .**

**Special thanks to Viridianasag, puppybee, and DameAureline**

**_Disclaimer: if you know it, then I don't own it..._**

Still in shock I tucked myself in my bed without even changing into some pjs. I really expected him to smile and say everything's all right, but instead he had just turned away. Just like that. I felt hot tears streaming down my face, what seemed to be the perfect night, had quickly turned into a frigging hell hole. On the other side of the bedroom I could hear Remus gathering his stuff and getting ready to sleep, his bed wasn't that far away from mine, so I could see him wearing striped boxers and a red t-shirt.

Just then I realized how deep this whole shit was about. Now I had feelings for him, not just a liking for his shaggy looks, the mere idea of him leaving soon sent chills down my spine and right there, in my bed, with my beautiful night-light on, I promised myself I wouldn't let yesterday's kiss mess things up, if he was gonna play hard to get I'd just make him crawl back to me... Ok, not. Just a change was in order, and I'm so sure I'm gonna like this.

I woke to the sound of what appeared to be a huge earthquake, I grabbed my blanket and found myself a life triangle... Just then I realize how stupid I was. NYC is not an earthquake zone, but that sound and shaking was pretty scary, so as any normal freaked out girl I took the best weapon if needed, oh yeah my left shoe, if it was a muggle intruder a wand would be kind of weird, but still took it and hid it before venturing myself to the kitchen, the origin of such noise. There was a person, I could hear the footsteps, and as soon as I lifted my shoe Remus' startled face appeared in front of me, I quickly dropped my shoe before muttering an apology.

'Sorry about that. I thought somebody had broken in' he raised an eyebrow and smiled softly.

'I am to blame for that' he gestured the floor which was covered with broken plates.

'Now, that explains so much' we managed to repair the crockery, and I got to spend some time with certain werewolf.

'Jennifer just left, are you sure you'll ditch just because?' He looked at me... Disappointed ?

'Well yeah, though I'll still live here, mom wants me to lay low for now. Being here is better than laying down back there, don't you think?'

'You could still visit Sirius. I know for a fact that he'll be staying at Grimmauld Place. It would be great if you could at least get to know him' this was so not called for... Still, my head ran through the possibilities, the memory of me hugging dad made itself present, made me want to have more moments like that. Hoping he'd rock me in his arms and call me his little girl, kissing my cheek and look at me with the adoration he always held while talking about his godson, suddenly my face fell and a new possibility flashed past the happy scenario, a new image of me hiding in my room, and dad talking alone with Harry Potter, him laughing with the Weasleys about the girl who couldn't please either side of her family. I felt the anger building instantly at the mere thought of it. Suddenly Remus looked more like a guardian angel, it was so obvious now, he was really trying to patch thing up between me and dad, innocently as I could, I looked at him.

'And how exactly are we going to get on with this if I am expected to talk Robert into helping the order?'

'Oh, that's simple, he's been in contact with Dumbledore, we are certain that we can count on him, actually I guess he should be enough for now, he is after all the one who can pull the strings around here. Maybe after I get on with the packs here we can move back'

'So, how did it go yesterday? I totally forgot'

'Oh, it was not a big deal, the pack consisted on three teens and one man, they were a bit reluctant to side with us, but they're way against joining Grayback, and I have this feeling that the other two will not be harder than yesterday's. Will you like to come along? I promised I would go back and help them get a little forest set out' he smiled down at me, and this sudden urge to embrace him came up as soon as I realized our faces were closer than usual.

'I don't think they'll appreciate me bugging in, but thanks, it would've been nice.' I looked down my hands and looked at him in the eye 'about yesterday' I saw him stiffen as soon as I brought it up 'I know where I stand. I really want to try it with you Remus, and' I started feeling my nervous seizure coming 'I really tried to push this to the back of my mind. Trust me I did, specially after realizing you weren't pushing me away, and that makes me feel so great! But please understand that I couldn't just hold it inside, and even if you just say its wrong, I'll hunt you down until I get a chance with you, and you have no idea how extraordinaire it is to make that kind of resolution for me, but I keep having this feeling that I ought to be close and I don't really think I can bottle it all inside me' I caught my breath and calmed myself down 'I just ask you to give one chance'

I could see the shock in his eyes, he wasn't waiting to be confronted so soon, I hadn't really planned it this way, but it just got out, and instead of kissing him again I smiled expectantly at him for some long horrendous minutes.

'Amanda, you don't even know what you are getting yourself into' he sighed frustrated with the situation and looked at me, I could tell he was waiting for me to give in 'you're my best friend's daughter, the mere age difference should be enough reason to keep you away. Do you really want to get yourself involved with a werewolf? Your-' I cut him as soon as I heard his argument. There was no "just friends". There was a slime chance that he might like me too, the mere thought made me almost squeal.

'I do know what I'm getting myself into, and it's not as if I were proposing and getting married straight away with you' I smiled to myself before going on 'and as far as I'm concerned you're my friend too, that should count for something, if you think I'm not aware of what I'm getting myself into, then that's why people date.' I looked at him with a dreamy face 'and yesterday was so great, the only thing I was hoping was to get an actual date where you'd look at me in awe'

I was once more facing him, the same blank expression on his face, and the memory of yesterday rushed through my mind, I'd been stupid enough to make the same mistake twice, but standing him walk away twice was something I wouldn't stand, so I pulled myself to the fridge and took some milk for a cereal, a nice breakfast would do it. He joined silently taking sips of an instant coffee.

'What do you think about going to your dad's for dinner, then we can sort things out' it seemed like a plan to me, though it made me shiver, if he was planing to tell dad about our whole feeling fiasco he'd think I have issues... I do have issues, and it's no biggie.

'Sounds like a plan to me' I smiled at him and he managed to roll his eyes.

'Why is it so important for you?' I suddenly asked, driving his attention to a comfort zone 'I mean, I do appreciate it, but not even dad takes the trouble to work things out. Why do you?' I saw him sigh a couple of times before locking eyes with me.

'Because, you two are as stubborn as the other. He thinks he's got no daughter because of the way you avoid him all the time, so he sticks even more to Harry and his friends. And are you so sure and confident that you lost your father to Harry, that you don't even care to notice that each step you take to get away from him, is another he'll take closer to Harry. And don't get me wrong, it is fine that you take your space, but neither of you is really trying to work things out and I'm growing tired of you both acting like arseholes, so it would be great if you could try tonight, for my own sake' I couldn't help to giggle, I was exasperating him... That's good, right? 'Please'

Later that day I found myself in the kitchen of Grimauld Place eating Roast beef with dad and Remus, mostly in silence, though Remus seemed just ready to do some talking. Apparently dad already knew of my plans to ditch out my studies and he proudly gave me a hug, said you didn't need a teacher to express yourself or something along those lines, at some point he managed to invite us stay for the night, and we accepted! Small talk between the three of us felt so normal that I could almost squeal, but again, we were interrupted by high pitch screams and dad went to shut it, leaving Remus and me alone, just what I waited for.

'So. I came to dinner with dad and realized he's actually cool' he smiled softly at me, I had also discovered they'd been the kind of the pranksters of the year

'Anyone arrived?'asked Remus carelessly

'Oh no, Kreacher woke the old hag'

'Once again, why are you staying here?' He looked at me and rolled his eyes. 'Anyway, as much as I enjoy time with you gossips, I think I'll go to my bedroom' a while passed and I sat on the twin sized bed waiting for something to come, thinking of nothing, just taking breaths in and out, just until I heard the door swinging open I dared to come back, drawing a soft smile on my face, hoping to see Remus, though I found dad standing in the doorway with a soft expression, I felt instantly proud when I realized he smelt like chocolate and not alcohol.

'Up so late?'

'Yeah, waiting for a bedtime story' I saw horror in his face and almost laughed at him, but waited to hear his response

'I talked to Remus' then I feared where this was leading, he saw the recognition in my eyes and continued with a deep sigh 'just don't break his achy breaky heart, he's got some bloody issues'

**Thank you for reading so far, hope this doesn't get too boring.**

**Please remember to review and read the next chapter, which I will upload soon enough. Any suggestions?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi there! I know it's been too long since I last posted but I've been kind of blocked so pardon me if this is just not what you were hoping for, also I've been on vacations with my cousins down in Latin America (Yay! Skating in summer is wicked) so I've been kind of short in time and with my aunt's laptop I haven't had the opportunity to write that much, so be patient with me please, I will not abandon this story, I just may take too long to finish, so if you thought I was gone for good, better get back here. Let me know what you think, I hope you like it**

**Once again thank you for reviewing and most importantly for reading, it means a lot to read your reviews, today I want to thank Viridianasag... **

_**Disclaimer: if you know it, I don't own it. **_

The sun was making its way through the rusty old windows in my room and I sighed as soon as I recalled last night events, yes, dad had been in my room, playing the concerned parent and all, that was a first. Then there was Remus, a bloody smile made its way to my lips, dad tried to give me the talk. I mean no one can actually prepare me for Sirius Black giving a sex talk. Somehow dad managed to notice the looks between us.

'Ready to floo back?'

'Ready' I quickly made the bed and looked at him as innocent as I could 'guess what dad tried last night. No chance you'll guess, he tried to give me the talk after dinner. Though he did mention we're welcome to drop by anytime' I looked at him and he was holding his laughter. Very unsuccessfully by the way 'yeah, laugh all you want, be glad it wasn't you listening, let me just tell you, it was not cool man' we bid Sirius farewell and left via floo, only problem being, Jen was still in her bedroom.

'Hello you two' she winked at me 'had a fun last night?' Remus' cheeks turned red and nearly choked

'You have no idea, I went to that sex shop and bought the book about the pickles and Remus here' I was interrupted by a disgusted Jen

'No need for details, be safe, gotta go' I couldn't help to burst out laughing

'What the bloody hell was that all about? You practically told the girl we had sex last night'

'Hey, she was gonna get suspicious, why else would we sneak in the morning wearing the same clothes as yesterday, I just saved us a good ton of questions that we can't really answer, you're welcome mister, now if you could stop being such an insufferable goody pants we could talk about us, I mean I practically already told you how I feel, but it would be nice to know where we stand, and if I remember correctly it is your time to talk' once again I found myself talking too much and too fast, but he didn't seem to care at all, after a few seconds he took me into his warm arms and whispered in my ear 'there is no way I can get to push you away, is there?' I shook my head fervently and he held me even tighter 'well, that is certainly good news, because I'm sure I can't make myself get away from you anymore Ms. Black. I giggled as softly as I could, but nothing would ever make me forget the relief, happiness and confusion that filled me in that exact moment.

'Then don't'

'We'll see' just like that he leaned closer and barely brushed his lips against mine, I quickly locked my arms around him and lost myself in his embrace.

'This will sound like a turn off but I really do have to get some breakfast right now, mind to join me?' I dragged him to the kitchen with me and made us some cereal, not the best I could think of, but definitely enough for our hungry bellies.

I must say this got my hopes as high as possible, and as I saw him smile I knew I wouldn't make it too far from him, just like if a simple touch, or a simple look could turn some switch inside my head, you know, the one that tells you life isn't a fairytale and makes sure you do all the boring stuff so you can make a living, I knew it was wrong, but it just felt so right, maybe I shouldn't try to find any sense in what crosses my mind right now, and maybe I should just let things be, because deep down there's this feeling that this will fade as soon as it came, if the days to come manage to break this feeling inside -which I know they will- I shall just enjoy it at its fullest. I won't spend forever wondering what if, and wishing to get an enchanting night, when I have the sparkles of a perfect day in front of me.

'Monsieur Lupin would you like to join me on a walk through Central Park?' I let out some giggles and took him by the arm completely ignoring his startled expression 'you know, I think there have been colder days in NY, we could use a bit of air' I saw him grabbing his brown old coat and a part of me wished to give him a new furry warm coat, but another part of me said that he wouldn't really appreciate it if I suddenly replaced all of his clothes, so I took my leave, after all I had to put on some decent clothes, my black trousers, a white sleek button down, a pair of suede moccasin slippers and a cream velvet trench coat, all of them warm enough to make it on the outside.

We took a ride on those carriages until I realized Remus was actually aiming to walk all the way and admire the statues or something, me on the other way, I was happy enough to see the different trees on our way, though we were both slowed down when rain started flowing, because well, rain wasn't exactly in our plan, just before we arrived to the apartment I noticed an old man listening to the radio out loud, the music subtly rang though my ear and before I could notice I was mumbling to myself "I'm Happy to Just Dance With You", when we opened the door I completely ignored Remus' look and played a cassette, then the joyful music started, with no second glance I took his arms and looked him

'Put your arms on my waist'

'I don't think...' He was cut out by a stern look of mine, with no other words we danced slowly and cozy to the fast beat of "I'm Happy to Just Dance With You". The living room was still filled with sunlight and our clothes were as messy as they could be after spending enough time under the rain in a highly polluted city, but there was this enchantment in the way we moved that all I wanted to do was keep this moment forever... Wait did I just say forever? I even like the idea if forever with this shabby man in front of me.

'Do you believe in love Remus?' Where the bloody hell did this came from? I bit my tongue before saying anything stupid, he just looked at me surprised, but I saw the fear in his eyes

'I... I do, what's this about Amy?' I looked at my feet and said the silliest excuse ever.

'Oh, I don't know, I was thinking about dad you know' I heard him sigh in relief and smiled to myself, he'd bought it

'Yeah, about your father, he actually wants us to go over there in Christmas, it will be quiet and it seemed like you were enjoying yourself last night, I mean it won't be the three of us only, I'm sure someone from the order will drop by, but it will be interesting, don't you think?'

So like that I was dragged into the idea of spending holidays with dad, we even gave Jen a perfect excuse, we needed time for ourselves, which we kind of really needed, because every now and then she'd turn up in the worst moments and Remus would close up... So a little time with dad wouldn't hurt... Yeah that's what I thought, until the very same time we arrived and found myself landed with a bunch of redheaded people and the-boy-who-wouldn't-die. Remus spent about an hour making silly excuses for us to stay and it all went straight down to hell when this woman came to me offering some sort of meat sandwich... Which actually wasn't as bad as it sounds. Anyway I'm missing the point, a frigging portrait asks him if its okay to send a bunch of people with us and he jumps with joy and takes them in with no hesitation, Sirius Black is such an infuriating man, I mean I don't mean to be mean or anything, I know these guys' dad is in the hospital, but I just agreed to this bullshit because I wanted to spend some time alone and sort things out with dad and Remus... That very same night I'd been with Remus in a nearby park trying to settle down.

'It is not as bad as it sounds, just give them a chance and they'll grow on you' I shot him a stern look

'You don't get it, it's like everything has to go wrong for me, the only reason I came here in the first place was to have a quiet time with you and dad, now I think a Princeton party is quieter than this hellhole' a swear I could see red flashing through his eyes before he calmed a bit and replied in a bitter tone

'Maybe if you weren't such a spoiled child, you'd realize just how lucky you really are. Your father broke out of prison and after twelve years he's back and eager to know you. You have your mother and brother supporting your every step, and education way beyond ordinary, you have real friends who actually threatened your boyfriend if I were to hurt you' he smiled sarcastically and looked at me, and I saw the sadness beyond them, underneath his now calm expression there was hurt, and I couldn't even think of why 'stop asking for miracles when the opportunities are right in front of you Amy, I get that you wanted time away from Harry, but now you get to know him, he won't take Sirius away from you unless you push him away, and my sweet Amanda, that's just what you're doing'

We did get back to dad's place and found him drinking butter beer with some kids. The readheaded kids.

**Humph, this one is short, I know, and I'm sorry, but what do you think? What would you like to happen next? Once again I'm sorry for not publishing in so long.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Special thanks to those of you who didn't give up on this fanfiction :3 i hold you in high steam and this chapter is specially for you, so as for any new readers who might show up**

**_Disclaimer: if you know it, then I don't own it..._**

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A brand new day came with the sunrise, I found Remus snoring by my side, we weren't meant to share bed, but the cold hit hard during the night and Remus let me cuddle with him, I can still hear his laughter when I suggested it and his awe when he realized I actually meant it.  
I found Moody by the kitchen along with a weird witch, who later I realized was named Tonks, they soon left with everyone else to the hospital, finally alone with dad and Remus, surprisingly I was in great mood and had some small talk with both of them until dad asked us to help him gather the Christmas decorations, it was so fun watching him, he acted like a four year old and which was just great, even though it meant putting up with a bunch of strangers in the house, after all I'd never really thought about the solitude dad endured the last decade, and this was just what he needed... That's what I thought, because a bit after Christmas Day, he started getting grumpy and sadder, Mrs. Weasley—the only reason I dare eat something in dad's house— said it was due to the fact that everyone would be leaving soon, which I did understand, he gets this huge holiday and figures its only matter of time before he's left to rue on his own.  
'Remus, don't you think dad would be better off with us, I mean we could get him a nearby place, I seriously doubt he'll be in danger in the U.S.' he gave me none other than his sad smile before breaking down my newfound dream  
'Well, someone has to stay here in case it's needed to gather the order, or in case something comes up' I was just about to reply when he shot me a look to let him continue 'plus, there's still a large amount of money over his head, if he were to be seen by any witch or wizard alive, he'll be in immediate danger, if the ministry gets support from America, it's to keep dark wizards in jail, I even bet he's one of the muggle's most wanted' instantly I felt sick, I knew dad was wanted for supposed murder, but the whole wide world is aware of this? I had so not expected that. As I did my reality check, I realized there was something way more important, dad couldn't be plainly happy without his freedom, there's no way a person can live under the shadows for too long, and dad's already losing it.  
'We all want him to be free again, don't we' it wasn't a question, there is a handful of people who won't send dad right back to askaban, and they're all in here. And I should really get to know these individuals.  
'We do,' he was interrupted by a loud conversation in the kitchen, dad didn't sound happy at all, with a quick look I knew we were both headed downstairs. There we met a quite angered Sirius Black and a blank faced Severus Snape... How weird it is to call him Severus, I smiled at him before leaving, this was something I didn't want to bug in.  
I mean I don't need to get my head bitten off by any of those guys! That's what I thought until I heard Snape's voice through the wall  
"Funny thing you show concern about Potter having a private talk with an order member in house full of people, yet you failed to notice your daughter's bruises on plain light" his voice was soft like a whisper, but still carried as much venom as possible, his soft mock went unnoticed once I recognized the disbelief beneath.  
"What are you talking about Snivelly?" Sirius now sounded astounded, probably expecting it to be made up, but I couldn't help to keep listening, Snape wouldn't know about it, would he? A sudden wave of fear ran through my whole body as I realized Remus was still standing beside me, probably listening the same.  
"Oh, not much, I just happen to know as a fact that those will be the least of her problems once her uncle gets hold of her again" he paused for a few seconds and I felt my blood turn cold "it does amaze me that you stand by the potter boy instead of the girl, but then again if she's any like her father, I wouldn't either like spend much time with her"  
I barely got noticed by any of them as I fled the place, but I could see Severus glaring daggers at me the whole time I was there, he'd seen me.  
Time flew by and I found myself sneaking out of Grimmauld Place, there was a park close by and I couldn't help to wonder whether it was a nice place to grow up in or not... Definitely it had its own charm and all, but the whole concept of being there sent shivers through my spine. I kept walking till I found a small and shivering hedgehog, it was still very small and puffy... In a heartbeat I took him in and carefully wrapped my hands around the little creature, it was freezing outside and how such small animal could survive on the outside surpassed my mental capacity.  
Never before had I felt such a... Such... Gosh I don't even know how to name it.  
I rushed myself back to the HQ and found a warm place in my room for little hedgehog.  
"I shall call you Sherlock" with that I went to the kitchen and got some vegetables, thank god everyone were in a heated chess game, so no questions were asked, that's what I thought until dear old Potter looked my way, suspicion written all over his face, I rolled my eyes, but then remembered the lettuce and carrots in my hands, that must be a giveaway,I blushed furiously, but gently took my finger to my mouth signaling to shut it, the boy's eyes followed me all the way till I got out of his sight, if I'm lucky enough he won't tell.  
Soon enough I heard footsteps though through the hallway, Tonks and Remus were talking animatedly about tomorrow, something about the knight bus, I took Sherlock in my left hand and caressed his belly, it was so soft, I couldn't help to giggle at the touch, apparently my mind drifted off far enough to let Sirius walk in, I didn't notice until he cleared his throat and looked at me with a funny looks on his face  
"You see, we thought you were getting hungry, but I guess little Mickey might be the one requiring dinner instead" I blushed as I saw the sandwich on his hand  
"I... Eh... Hi dad! " he looked at me with a stern look and I showed him little Sherlock "Hope you don't mind, I found this little buddy by the park and... Um. Say hi! His name's Sherlock"  
"So... You found him on the street?" He looked kind of suspicious and I knew what was coming, so I slowly covered him with both hands "just let me make sure it is a normal mouse"  
"He's a hedgehog" I rolled my eyes and handed him Sherlock "seriously man, you'd think a guy could tell a hedgehog apart from a rat" dad pointed his wand at Sherlock, who stood sleepy on his hand, he slowly handed me down my little baby and let out a grunt  
"Your h-e-d-g-e-h-o-g mademoiselle" he looked around and chuckled "so I guess you didn't like my Christmas present?" He pointed at the wall where I hanged the firebolt as part of the furniture, I looked down and swallowed  
"I don't really like quidditch, never been my thing. Malfoy never played soft, so Blaise only let me on a broomstick while on house grounds, even then I'd rather stay inside with a good book or any kind of music mom bought." He looked a bit down "still it's a nice gesture, I hope you liked mine, I mean I'm sure it's not much, but you can get almost anything, so I guess at the time a bit of Chinese takeaway seemed like a great idea" I know, I'm the only freak who counts Chinese food as Christmas present, but the belly wants what the belly wants, and any male likes food. Just like if Sherlock knew what we were talking about he made his way till the carrots and I couldn't help to let a laugh escape my lips.  
"I thought he was a perfect pet for me... Do you like him?" He let out a chuckle  
"As long as he doesn't steal any of Molly's meals I'm good with him"  
"Ow, come on! Don't tell me he hasn't stolen your heart yet, he's so cute and shy!"  
"Yeah, right" Sirius was smiling, but something about it was as tense as the strings on a violin, just waiting for the moment to crack  
"Everything ok dad?" I saw a glimpse of doubt on his face, but he quickly recovered  
"I just don't like the idea of Snivellous giving Harry extra lessons"  
"Professor Snape?" I never heard anyone call him that and it was no wonder "he is nice enough, as long a wonder boy makes his best of course" Sirius looked at me as though a second head had grown upon my neck and I frowned upon it, it's true, Snape is not a bad teacher once he realizes you give a damn about his class. "Hey! It's true, he's an ass to the one who doesn't get one simple instruction right, then again, I always had potions with ravenclaws and things were smooth, unless anyone happened to explode their cauldron" he looked even more taken aback "It is rude to stare like that you know?"  
"My own daughter is taking Snivellous' side!" I punched him with a pillow nearby "the horror" I was about to do it again until I realized Potter was standing on the door frame with a puzzled look on his face, Sirius gained composure again and smiled at him, now it seemed more of an honest smile  
"Harry, I don't think you've met my daughter yet" the boy's eyes grew wide and looked even more puzzled "Amanda and Sherlock the Hedgehog" I quickly secured Sherlock in my hands so I wouldn't have to give handshakes, I smiled at him  
"Yeah, dad kind of thought I had an animagus here, didn't ya?" Sirius smiled and took Sherlock carefully in his hand  
"Nothing personal Sir Sherlock, I hope you can forgive an old man" I giggled and took now sleepy Sherlock in my hands  
"I think it's just fine with him as long as you don't kick him out" he waved his hand dismissively  
"Harry, are you any good with hedgehogs? I think this one here is with us for good" Potter smiled widely and looked at us in awe

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**Hi there! I'm still here and still writing, just a bit slower due to some technical issues. I hope to be back with a new chapter soon enough, that's if anyone out there is still reading this fan fiction :P and I also do hope you guys show living signs, let me know what liked and disliked, it's always good to know where to improve...**

**I hope you enjoyed today's chapter, it's not too long but I just loved it, I wanted to have a but of Sirius-Amanda bonding, and somehow the awkward presence of Harry didn't sound so awkward after all. I also want you to notice that Sherlock here is kind of important, because as you can so accurately see he's got Amanda in love with him. Next chapter a lot more Remus going on, though I'm not sure if it is for good. **

**Anyway if you managed to read this far... THANK YOU. **


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